10 Skills To Put on Your Resume for It to Get Noticed
Your resume is your first and sometimes only shot at making an impression on your future employer. And while this may not sound encouraging, the truth is that even the smallest mistake can cost you a good prospect.
There’s every reason to be meticulous when it comes to writing your CV. Almost everyone applying has a degree and good scores. So what helps you stand out? According to reviews and feedback from numerous employers, here are some of the skills to put on your resume that can get you called in for an interview.
10 Skills To Put on Your Resume
1. Active listening
Most employers are just looking for someone who is easy to work with, easy to explain things to, and attentive so they don’t have to repeat themselves. Your character matters every bit as much as your skill. If you’re a good listener, open to criticism and feedback, and know how to take good notes, mentioning that in your CV can get you through to the next round.
2. Communication
Being able to articulate your ideas with fluency, clarity, effectiveness, and concision is arguably the most sought-after skill in the world. It’s a high-value skill to be able to easily connect with people. Streamlining business processes requires strong communication skills.
But when you’re including communication skills in your CV, you should also explain how and why you’re able to communicate so well, as opposed to simply including it as a placeholder under soft skills.
To put it simply, you need to use your communication skills to explain why you have great communication skills. What kind of background or experiences have helped you hone your command of language?
3. Computer Skills
Almost every desk job on this planet demands computer literacy. Regardless of whether the job you’re applying for requires proficiency in computing, you should mention your current skill set in the field. As for what sort of computer skills you can include, here are some ideas:
- Microsoft Office + Excel
- Google Analytics
- Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
- Research skills
- Typing speed
- Web design
- Data entry
These are some of the most common in-demand computer-related skills in the world. They add a tremendous amount of weight to your resume because leveraging technology is how businesses make it in the world today.
4. Customer Service
If you have previous customer service experience, your resume would be a good place to mention it. Dealing with customers requires a nuanced understanding of the business’ interests and customer’s needs. If you’re experienced in this, it will help you stand out for a job interview.
5. Interpersonal Skills
Your interpersonal skills are what you use to interact with people to make them like you, understand you, and accept you or agree with you. Good interpersonal skills are a sign of high intelligence and are necessary for virtually every field.
Your employers want to gauge how well you work with others, as a leader, follower, mediator, and organizer. It takes strong cooperation and communication to run a company, so if there’s one area you should focus on improving in yourself, it’s interpersonal skills.
6. Leadership
Leadership is one of the most important interpersonal skills. Being a good leader isn’t about getting the position but rather what you do once you’re in it. The best leaders are the kind that take initiative at the workplace and go out of their way to guide others.
If you believe you have leadership qualities or if you’re seeking to develop them, you need to mention that in your resume.
7. Management Skills
Management is also a leadership skill that involves communication and making the best of your resources. That includes the company’s capital, employees and their skill sets, and tools or equipment. Here are some examples of managerial skills you can include in your resume:
- Interpersonal skills
- Leadership skills
- Your ability to motivate others and boost workplace morale
- Organization
- Delegation
- Forward planning
- Strategic thinking
- Problem-solving
- Commercial awareness
- Calmness under pressure
8. Problem-solving
Being able to apply knowledge and common sense to solve problems exceptionally well is how you get hired and promoted. Because there will come many times where you will encounter problems in the workplace that your education has not prepared you for.
If you’re a clear thinker who can remain calm under pressure and figure your way out of problems, that makes you a valuable asset.
9. Time Management
Time waits for no one. Employers, clients, fellow colleagues — they all have deadlines. When faced with a clutter of tasks, better time management can be your saving grace.
If you’re confident in your ability to abstain from procrastination, mention your time-management skills in your resume.
10. Transferable Skills
Lastly, and most importantly, your resume needs to demonstrate as clearly and concisely as possible that you have the qualifications and skills to do the job you’re being hired for better than others. The more transferable skills you have the better.
How To Identify Your Best Skills
Take a moment to relax and play through all the professional experiences you’ve had. What skills or talents have you been commended for by others? Which ones have you spent a lot of time working on? Do you have certificates or letters of recommendation that attest to your expertise in a particular skill?
The answer to these questions will give you the answer to your best skills.
How To List Your Skills
Here are some aspects of your resume you should pay attention to when listing your skills and experiences:
1. Length
Avoid writing long paragraphs. Keep any descriptions you include short.
2. Excess of Personability
Do not divulge personal experiences. Not that you can’t or shouldn’t, but you should limit it as much as possible or save it for the cover letter.
3. Order
Make it a point to list your skills in relevant order. Not listing them in order of importance to the particular job they’re applying for can make your resume lack focus.
4. Overproportion of Personality Attributes and Interpersonal Skills to Transferable Skills
Remember, your transferable skills matter first. From the perspective of your employer, every other skill can still be worked on later once you get the job.
You should safely assume that the HR team will probably not read through the whole resume or even past the first page if they don’t see something they like immediately. Always start with the skills that are most important and relevant to the position you’re applying for and keep it short and readable.
